Years after a childhood Amtrak ride, I discovered the Empire Builder, the long-haul line from Chicago to Seattle and Portland. I decided the adventure of traveling all those miles was just too good to miss.

It is in community gatherings and traditions that I look to understand how we might be better at bringing communities together -- not just as part of a distant past, but in order to forge a new kind of future.

I'm taking a stand for fewer communications, for timeout for reflection and maybe even a little research before we all hit the Post/Send/Publish buttons. The result could well be more signal and less noise.